Gross Indecency will overrun the Denver Center Theatre Company when the Moises Kaufman national hit begins previews, Jan. 27. The show, directed by Laird Williamson, will open Feb. 4, 1999 and run through March 4, 1999.

DCTC favorites lead the Denver cast, with Jamie Horton as Oscar Wilde, John Hutton as Edward Clarke, and William Denis as the Marquess of Queensberry.

Gross Indecency follows "the arrest, judgment and sentencing of the most celebrated playwright of his time," utilizing original Wilde transcripts and letters, as well as biographical material on Wilde.

The Importance Of Being Earnest may be a staple of theatres around the world, and an An Ideal Husband and Salome have both had recent, star-studded Broadway productions, but in his day, legendary wit Oscar Wilde wasn't quite so well accepted. He was sentenced to two years' hard labor in an English prison for "gross indecency with male persons" -- in other words, the crime of homosexuality. Upon his release, he moved to France and died of meningitis three years later.

Viewers who think Wilde was simply arrested and tried for being gay in England might be surprised at the full story told here: Wilde first sued Lord Queensberry for defamation of character, but the suit backfired, with Wilde becoming the victim of his own pride -- and England's legal system. Gross Indecency plays at DCTC's The Ricketson Theatre, Jan. 27 - March 4, 1999, running concurrently with Derek Walcott's Dream on Monkey Mountain at DCTC's The Space Theatre, Jan. 22- Feb. 20. For tickets or more information, call (303) 893-4100.

-- By Sean McGrath